Richard A. Webster@RichardAWebster

Senior reporter @veritenewsnola, ProPublica Local Reporting Network, former Times-Picayune investigative team, rawwriting.com, rwebster@veritenews.org

 New Orleans
Joined May 2011
129 Photos and videos
The Ouachita Parish DA attempted to obtain DNA from former death row inmate Jimmie Duncan in an apparent effort to reopen the case against him for the 1993 death of his former girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux. @veritenewsnola veritenews.org/2026/09/19/ji…

Jimmie Duncan investigation reopened

Duncan spent nearly three decades in prison before his murder case was finally overturned by the state Supreme Court. But this week, the DA’s office obtained a warrant for a DNA sample from him.

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Richard A. Webster retweeted
Sam Karlin@samkarlin
Sep 11
Should Entergy be able to use eminent domain to build the electrical infrastructure needed to power Meta's data center? My dispatch from rural (and deeply conservative) north Louisiana, where data centers are enraging landowners. nola.com/news/entergy-meta-d…

Entergy wants to build power lines for Meta’s data center. These landowners are fighting back. 

A group of landowners is asking the courts to block Entergy’s expropriation of rural property. Entergy has also filed suit against some landowners in Ouachita and Richland parishes, saying it made...

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Richard A. Webster retweeted
Mukta Joshi@mukta_jo
Sep 3
2 weeks ago, @joey_cranney & I found that the police chief in Senatobia, MS routinely used the N-word in private texts — same dept whose officers fatally shot a Black 1 y/o in June. This week, the chief tried to resign but city leaders fired him instead. tinyurl.com/yvwz8a24

Senatobia police chief is fired after sending racist text messages

Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford submitted his resignation letter to city leaders days after Mississippi Today, Verite News and The New York Times revealed that he had frequently used racist…

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Anyone looking to help Duncan can donate here: gofundme.com/f/help-chris-re…

Donate to Help Chris Rebuild After Wrongful Conviction, organized by Chris Duncan

Jimmie Chris Duncan is in need of urgent support as he rebuilds a life that … Chris Duncan needs your support for Help Chris Rebuild After Wrongful Conviction

gofundme.com
Richard A. Webster@RichardAWebster
Aug 31
1–After 27 years on death row, Jimmie Duncan’s murder conviction was overturned in June by the Louisiana Supreme Court. But while Duncan is grateful to no longer be confined to the tiny cell at Angola prison, I learned that he is still not truly free. THREAD:
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1–After 27 years on death row, Jimmie Duncan’s murder conviction was overturned in June by the Louisiana Supreme Court. But while Duncan is grateful to no longer be confined to the tiny cell at Angola prison, I learned that he is still not truly free. THREAD:
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14 - He doesn’t want others to suffer as he did. “I can’t be a simple person anymore,” Duncan said. “I try to find ways to be happy, but nothing is simple anymore.”
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15 - Read the full story here: propublica.org/article/louis…

He Spent 27 Years on Death Row as a Wrongfully Convicted Man. What Comes Next?

23-hour solitary confinement. 115-degree heat. Jimmie Duncan is haunted by the decades he spent in Louisiana’s Angola prison — and how, even after being released, he still isn’t truly free.

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Richard A. Webster retweeted
Sam Karlin@samkarlin
Aug 27
New from me: Politicians across the country are running away from data centers. Even Texas Republicans are turning on them. Why is @LAGovJeffLandry and other Louisiana Rs standing firm? "We don't need a moratorium," Landry tells me. Story: nola.com/news/politics/data-… #lagov

As politicians on both sides begin to turn on data centers, it’s a different story in Louisiana

“We don’t need a moratorium when we can have responsible growth,” said Gov. Jeff Landry. Meanwhile other states are putting the clamps on data center growth. Here’s what to know.

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